thinkfuture: technology, philosophy and the future

If you really care about climate change, forget about electric vehicles. You are simply not taking full responsibility for the generation of the energy used to move your car around. Just get the smallest displacement internal combustion engine, the most efficient energy creator humans have developed.

Do you know the difference between objective and subjective reality? Aligning yourself and your teams with objective reality is your best chance at winning the future.

Creativity is an unlimited resource in your life. Thus, the motivation of the people you surround yourself, spend time with, and invest in is the wellspring of your own personal creativity. When you help them tap into their motivation, it pays back in spades for your own.    The greatest leaders are unstoppable because they tap into the creativity of the people they surround themselves with and serve with humility. My coaching educates leaders in fostering environments that maximize creativity and innovation.    "The Momentum Framework" is a collection of contextual models and language tools that form a system that maximizes the creativity of the people we lead. The result is MOMENTUM through innovation.   My journey in innovating began with software products at the ripe old age of 11, programming on my 8-Bit Commodore Vic-20 in the 1980s, and never stopped. I studied aviation electronics working on F-14 Tomcats in the Navy, molecular genetics at the University of Rochester, and earned an MBA from the Simon School of Business in 2006. However, most of my experience has come from two and a half decades of working in the trenches with amazing teams building innovative software products that move, touch and inspire the world. ITX is a passionate group of 250+ inspired technologists and artists that produce magic every day for our clients. We are pioneering how software products are built and creating best practices that are forging the future of how technology interfaces with people. Through ITX and in other ventures, I have engineered the divestiture, acquisition, and mergers of over a dozen companies. Through CEO and leadership roundtables worldwide and a professorship at the University of Rochester, I have educated thousands of business leaders on innovation, culture, empathy, and "The Momentum Framework."    Mentioned in the show:   Cognitive Empathy: Emotional Intelligence (EQ): Capacity for Influence (C/I)   Daniel Goleman – Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relationships   Daniel Kahneman – Thinking, Fast and Slow   Travis Bradberry – Emotional Intelligence 2.0 Affective Empathy: Compassion: Capacity for Caring (C/C)   Brene Brown – The Gifts of Imperfection   John M. Gottman – The Science of Trust   Edward L. Deci – Why We Do What We Do: Understanding Self-Motivation   Daniel Goleman – Focus, The Hidden Driver of Excellence   Kenneth O. Stanley & Joel Lehman - Why Greatness Cannot Be Planned: The Myth of Objective   INNOVATION: in·no·va·tion | ˌi-nə-ˈvā-shən : Any insight or tactic which, when deployed, causes a measurable improvement to momentum also: concept or best practice change, which causes a measurable improvement to the strategic success of the firm   ADVOCACY: ad·vo·ca·cy | ˈad-və-kə-sē: The highest level of a mutual business relationship, where each invests in the other’s future also: The regular demonstration of behaviors that reflect an investment in our collective future; The act of one who is inspired   LOYALTY: loy·al·ty | ˈlȯi(-ə)l-tē : The level of a mutual business relationship where each member self-determines that they will engage with the other in the future also: The regular demonstration of engagement behaviors   TRUST: ˈtrəst : The level of a mutual business relationship where each is confident in the other also: The demonstration of caring and confidence through the investment behaviors of time, information, or social capital    [email protected]  https://www.productmomentum.fm/

Instead of regurgitating the past, we should all focus on creating new knowledge

Even when you are doing something as boring as vendor selection, design thinking is important.

An author, entrepreneur, and acclaimed international speaker, Frans Johansson has inspired readers and audiences worldwide with his ideas on leadership and success, innovation, and D&I. He is the Founder and CEO of The Medici Group, an enterprise solutions firm that empowers organizations to leverage diversity and inclusion to build and sustain high-performing teams. Frans is also the author of two books – The Medici Effect and The Click Moment – and he hosted a podcast centered on diversity driving innovation. Raised in Sweden by his African-American/Cherokee mother and Swedish father, Johansson has lived all his life at the intersection. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science from Brown University and a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard Business School.  

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fransjohansson/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Frans_Johansson

If you look at most of the successful startups (and internal innovation programs) throughout history, you’ll note a trend – there are usually two or more partner founders (or intrapreneurs) right there at the beginning (although eBay is a notable difference). Additionally, these partners need to have specific traits, typically one is the more extroverted sales type, and the other is the more introverted engineering type, even though there are those who have both of those skill sets.  I’d venture to say that you can build the archetypes out even further than that – and Star Trek (the original series, of course) gives us near-perfect role models. Of those, the only two you really need at a minimum at the outset are Kirk and Scotty. The qualities of Kirk (or Kirk-type) that you need are his willingness to take risks, make big decisions, and be the voice of the company (just as he is the voice of the Enterprise). Then as Kirk makes deals, confronts the alien menaces, or confuses the evil computer with illogic, it’s up to Scotty-type to execute those deals.  When a Kirk-type has a need-based on talking to the customer, he asks a Scotty-type to execute whatever needs to happen to keep that customer happy. The Scotty-type doesn’t want or need to be the one talking to the customer, he or she is most happy delivering Warp 5 or reading technical manuals, while the Kirk-types do all of the schmoozing. While many startup founders fall neatly into these roles, what some don’t get is that the relationship between these two is truly symbiotic – without a Kirk-type, the Enterprise would not know where to go, and without a Scotty-type, the ship wouldn’t go anywhere, no matter what customers say or what orders are barked.  In every startup, you need a good working relationship between Kirk-types and Scotty-types, each understanding that the other is absolutely necessary for the startup to be successful or the ship to get anywhere.

your audience is more important than your product

A transformative leader with 10 years of expertise in cross-vertical digital marketing, brand strategy, innovation, and client partnerships. Big thinking entrepreneur who thrives on opportunity and culture, getting people and businesses to do their best work.

If Something Upsets You, Does That Make It More Innovative?  Let’s face it – most people don’t like change. We like things being the way they are – even the word “upset” has a negative connection – to turn over the “set” to break with the established order. The only problem is that there are so many things we can have the ability to SOLVE if only we would be willing to “upset” things.